Exclusive reaction to man's sentence from family he beat and robbed

A man is beginning a 35 year sentence for aggravated robbery after attacking, beating and robbing an elderly Port Arthur couple and their disabled veteran son in 2014.

Three years ago, Jane Avila was ready for her attacker to go to prison for a long time.

"Get him off the street, throw him away, lock him up and throw the key away," she told KFDM in 2014 after Wilbert Frank attacked her family.

"i'm laying there thinking 'I hope I don't die before I can call 911.'"

Now, she's resting a little easier.

A judge sentenced Frank to 35 years in prison Monday for bludgeoning the family with a saute pan and robbing them.

"To inflict that much damage to a couple of old people and a disabled vet, it just seems so senseless to me," said Avila.

"it's frustrating with all my training that I had," said Matthew Avila.

The disabled veteran was hit in the back of the head with the pan, knocking him out immediately.

"To have someone come into my house and immobilize me was terrifying," said Avila.

"We can't undo the terrible thing that happened to this family, but we can make sure it doesn't happen again, and we took this guy off the streets," said prosecutor Luke Nichols. "He will not be able to hurt anyone again."

Peace of mind this family has been waiting for.

"Today I purposely didn't lock that door behind me when I let the dog in the yard," said Avila. "I purposely, consciously didn't do that, and it felt good to not have that worry."

Matthew Avila's then 5-year-old son was also in the house at the time of the robbery. He was able to hide.